Cover for a part vertical,part horizontal opening



J- B. OLSSON Sept. 16,1969

COVER FOR A PART VERTICAL, PART HORIZONTAL OPENING Filed May 24, 1968 2 INVENTOR Jahan Berr'l. Olsso 3,467,164 COVER FOR A PART VERTICAL, PART HORIZONTAL OPENING Johan Bertil Olsson, Goteborg, Sweden, assignor to Assoclated Cargo Gear AB, Goteborg, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed May 24, 1968, Ser. No. 731,835 Claims priority, application Sweden, June 26, 1967, 9,077/67 Int. Cl. Ef 1/00; E06b 3/48 US. Cl. 160-188 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A satifactory weathertight closure for an opening arranged at the joint between a horizontal and a vertical wall surface is difficult to arrange. Elastic packings are utilized between the covers and the walls and these packings will be damaged if the cover slides along the corresponding wall surface during the initial part of the opening movement and the latter part of the closing movement. As the two cover sections will have to move in ditferent directions it is diflicult to lift both sections from their respective counterparts simultaneously. According to the present invention each hinge connecting the horizontal cover section to the Wall surface contains a link pivotably joined to each of the hinge parts connected to the cover and to the wall, respectively. The covers are operated by at least one pressure fluid ram, which is arranged in such a manner, that the longitudinal axis thereof is essentially horizontal when the cover is in closed position. During the initial opening movement the link in the hinge is swung upwards, thereby raising the horizontal section from its counterpart. Simultaneously the vertical section is pushed outwards from its counterpart. Thereafter the folding together of the sections may take place without the packings being damaged. During the latter part of the closing movement the parts will be displaced in a reversed order.

Background of the invention On many occasions the opening to a ships hatch or other store room is arranged in such a manner that it will be located partly in a vertical wall surface and partly in an adjoining horizontal surface. Such an opening makes it possible to reach the cargo space by means of trucks or the like through the opening in the vertical wall or by means of lifting tackles operating through the part of the opening arranged in the horizontal surface.

In order to close such an opening it has been proposed to utilize closure means containing two hingedly connected sections, which in the same manner as with ordi nary hatch covers are brought to a vertical position at the innermost end of the opening located in the horizontal surface. The packings which are arranged between the cover sections and the coaming surrounding the opening are however easily damaged by the complicated movement performed by the sections.

Summary of the invention In order to remove this disadvantage and to design the sections in such a manner, that they during the initial part of the opening movement are displaced outwards from the pertaining part of the coaming, the hinge connection between the section and the horizontal surface as well as the main body on the sections are designed in a manner more explicitly described in the appended claims. The horizontal section will in this manner be lifted somewhat upwards and the vertical section will be pushed out- United States Patent 0 3,467,164 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 wards from the pertaining sides of the coaming in such a manner that the main part of the opening movement may take place without risk of damaging the packings.

Brief description ofthe drawing FIGURE 1 is a section through an opening arranged in the joint between the deck and the side plating of a ship.

FIGURE 2 shows on a larger scale the design of the hinge and the location of the parts thereof in closed position.

FIGURE 3 shows the hinge in open position.

Description of the preferred embodiment The side plating of a ship is denoted by 1 and the deck thereof is denoted by 2. At the joint between the deck and the side plating an opening is arranged, which consists of one part 3 forming a vertical door and a second part 4 forming a hatch opening of conventional type, which here, however, at one side is directly connected to the vertical door-opening. This combined opening is covered by two sections 6 and 7 interconnected by hinges 5. The latter section is at its lower edge provided with a pair of wheels 8, which are adapted to run on rails 9, 10 in the vertical and the horizontal part, respectively, of the coaming. A sloping portion 11 for the wheels 8 is arranged at the inner edge of each rail portion 10 in the same manner as with conventional hatch covers. The interconnected sections are operated by means of two pressure fluid rams 12 one located at each side of the section 6 and connected to the deck and to the section, respectively, by means of pivots 13 and 14. These rams are so designed that their longitudinal axis will run essentially horizontal when the cover is closed. The cover section 6 is connected to the inner part of the coaming by means of a number of hinges each containing arms 15 fitted to the section 6 and brackets 16 fitted to the deck. The arm and the bracket are interconnected by means of a link 17, which is connected to said parts by means of pivots 18 and 19, respectively. During different points of the opening movements these pivots will alternatively serve as hinge axes. The arms 15 have such a length that pivot 18, when the cover is closed will be located outside pivot 19, and at about thesame level as the same in relation to the deck. Link 17 is designed to perform a swinging movement of and will thereafter cooperate with a fixed member 20 in the coaming. In this position link 17 will lift a pivot 19 above pivot 18.

FIGURE 1 shows in full lines the cover in closed position and indicates with dash-dotted lines different position during the opening movement. In closed position the cover sections will rest against packings (not shown) in the coaming and are retained in locked position in relation thereto by means of dog mechanisms of arbitrary design (not shown). When pressure fluid is supplied to the rams the piston rods will be forced outwards and will first occupy a position indicated by numeral 21. This brings about a change at the main hinge from the position shown in full lines in FIGURE 1 and in FIGURE 2, respectively, to the position shown in dash-dotted lines in FIGURE 1 and in full lines in FIGURE 3. The cover section will then take up a position indicated by 22 in FIGURE 1, where the horizontal section is lifted from the pertaining part of the coaming and the vertical section is pushed outwards from its pertaining part of the coaming. Due to the continued action of the rams section 6 will thereafter be swung about pivot 18 while this is in the position shown in FIGURE 3 and moves through the positions indicated by 23, 24 and 25 in order finally to reach fully open position indicated by 26, section 7 automatically following this movement. When the cover is to be closed the moments are repeated in a reversed manner and during the last movement the sections by the aid of the rams from position 22 are pulled into contact with the packings.

The invention may of course also be utilized with similar openings in the bow or in the stern of a ship, respectively, as well as with sheds and similar stores of arbitrary type. For operation of the cover sections a single ram arranged centrally in relation to the openings may be sufficient.

What I claim is:

1. Means for covering an opening consisting of two portions, one portion being located in a horizontal wall surface and the other portion being located in a vertical wall surface contiguous thereto, which comprises,

two cover sections pivotally connected to each other said cover sections consisting of a horizontal cover section adapted to cover the horizontal portion of said opening, and a vertical cover section adapted to cover the vertical portion of said opening;

a plurality of hinges connecting said horizontal cover section to said horizontal wall surface, each hinge comprising a first hinge part connected to said horizontal wall surface, a second hinge part connected to said horizontal cover section and a link pivotally connecting said first and second hinge parts;

4 at least one pressure fluid operated ram located between the horizontal wall and the horizontal cover section and adapted to operate the pair of sections, said ram being so arranged that the longitudinal axis thereof in closedposition of the cover is essentially horizontal, and wheels at the lower part of the vertical section cooperating With guides (9, 10) arranged in the vertical and in the horizontal wall surface, respectively. 2. A combined cover as claimed in claim 1, in which the hinges are so designed, that the second hinge part in closed position extends beyond the pivot axis between the first hinge part and the link (17), the latter being so designed, that it can perform essentially a turn in such a manner that the pivot between the second hinge part and the link will be lifted upwards simultaneously with the outward movement of the cover section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,910,031 10/1959 Green et al. -188 X 3,050,026 8/1962 Ligh 160-188 X 3,280,892 10/1966 Hamilton 160l88 X PETER M. CAUN, Primary Examiner 

